Arsonists in Kisii town set ablaze four business premises painted with a political party's colours on Wednesday night.

The owners of the premises and local leaders said they suspected political thuggery.

The arson, in which property worth hundreds of thousand shillings was destroyed, came barely two days before two planned parallel fund drives in the constituency.

Yesterday, one of the meetings was postponed while police lifted the ban on the other.

The acting Kisii District Commissioner, Mr Tingo Nyamatiko, yesterday said the funds drive, which was to be conducted by Cabinet ministers Prof Sam Ongeri and Mr Henry Kosgey, had been postponed indefinitely.

Earlier, anxiety had gripped Kisii town over a looming showdown between leaders of the meetings initially scheduled for today.

The anxiety had been sparked off by the outlawing of a funds drive at which the presidential aspirant Simeon Nyachae was to officiate.

The buildings, barely 100 metres from a police station, were allegedly set ablaze at 1am local time were still smouldering later in the afternoon.